Finger Lakes Railway (FGLK) Discussion

[mkirsch]

There are a lot of homes and businesses and homes between 444 and 332 that it does not make sense to drive all the way out, around, and back via the Thruway.

[D Alex]

I'm thinking the new road is intended to divert traffic off Rt 96 that comes into downtown Victor from Rt 251. I have no idea if it will work or not. I might use the bypass when heading to the Finger Lakes through Victor, especially when they have their big festival in September.

The D&C also printed the revised proposal for ONCT in today's edition.

why would you drive thru victor, including bypass? I would take thruway to 332. Way a lot faster than 96/bypass. If Victor doesn't want traffic to increase (Bypass WILL) I would keep things as it and force people who want to travel to Farmington or to eastview/thruway from Farmington to take thruway instead of 96 or backroads. Thruway from exit 45 to 44 is easily 5 minutes vs 96 which is about 15-30 min.

Where I work (close to Victor on the east side), taking the TWY to 332 adds 5 minutes, plus a toll. I only go that way if I need to stop at either the auto parts store or one of the fast-food places. I can see how, if the turned the LVRR r.o.w. into a road with no off-streets or driveways, then it would just be 2 lights, all the way out to 251. But not a lot of width. Oversize loads wouldn't be able to go through, and it would still be a single lane each way.

[Matt Langworthy]

There are a lot of homes and businesses and homes between 444 and 332 that it does not make sense to drive all the way out, around, and back via the Thruway.

Agreed. And here's the rub- the pressure to redevelop ONCT into a road is largely due to housing built in recent years. Northwestern Ontario County has become an extended suburb of Rochester. Indeed, a housing development off Rt 251 has choked the opportunity to attract new customers to the western end of ONCT.

[CPSD40-2]

Bringing this back to FGLK a bit more, the 5&20 bypass around Canandaigua was built back in the early 80's ( I think? ) to get truck traffic away from downtown Canandaigua, and to avoid the persistent truck constant collisions with the CR/PC/NYC bridge on West Ave. I was quite young back then, but my Dad recalls there being talk of extending the bypass "someday" further north to the west side of downtown Victor. I doubt this idea ever got past a napkin drawing, but if it had then I bet a lot of the congestion in Victor would be alleviated. I also recall the idea being tossed around to eliminate the toll on the thruway between exits 44 and 45 to try and get commuters to take that route instead of 96.

Speaking of Canandaigua, what is the industry that FGLK serves just East of the Ontario St grade crossing, odd-shaped building receiving covered hoppers?

[BR&P]

Bringing this back to FGLK a bit more,......

Since 2007, the line into Victor IS FGLK.

There have been/are/will be various scenarios of the bypass at Victor. The one which makes the most sense to me is removal of the track, and the bridge east of town. The former railroad ROW would be one-way eastbound, while the current Rt 96 would be 1-way westbound. (OK, technically I believe rt 96 is designated north/south, but you get the idea.) The various businesses in between could be reached from either road. Turns in either direction onto Maple Ave and School Street would be allowed. A possible connection or turnaround could be placed halfway between School St and Rt 251.

Whether this is the option which comes to reality or not only time will tell.

Speaking of Canandaigua, what is the industry that FGLK serves just East of the Ontario St grade crossing, odd-shaped building receiving covered hoppers?

That is (or was last I knew) Commodore Plastics. The cars are unloaded there and the material is trucked to another location. (Holcomb, maybe?). The odd shaped structure was known as the Hay Barn in older NYC days, they loaded outbound cars of hay there.

[CPSD40-2]

Commodore would make sense, they have a sizable facility in East Bloomfield thats grown into 2 divisions. Ironically, it is right along the old Peanut Line ROW. Good to see FGLK work with businesses that are off-line as much as those on-line.

[BR&P]

Ironically, it is right along the old Peanut Line ROW.

Now THAT would have been an interesting ride if the line were still there. But cars at Canandaigua are better than none at all.

[CPSD40-2]

Now THAT would have been an interesting ride if the line were still there. But cars at Canandaigua are better than none at all

For sure! Railroad East of the plant there's some pretty hefty swampland, I bet the roadbed would be (and likely WAS ) in pretty rough shape!

[Matt Langworthy]

Does GLK in Shortsville ship by rail? I've heard they'll be shutting down in September.

[BR&P]

The last I knew, they were not an active shipper.

[sd80mac]

Route 332 has a looong stretch of 40 mph and Canandaigua itself has a 30 mph speed limit. Granted, Rt 96 in VIctor can be slow... but I can bypass most of Canandaigua by using a combination of Brace Rd/McCann Rd/Rts 5 & 20 (west of Rt 332) with a speed limit of 55 mph. Routes 5 & 20 are 40 mph from Rt 332 to Rt 364 for both your route and my route. My route is slightly faster than Rt 332. The bypass would help me get around the bottleneck in downtown Victor and make my route even faster. There really is no way for Victor to stop drivers like me from going through the village, so they might as well make it easier.

Well Im speaking of RT 96 from exit 45 to RT 332... and THruway vs. 96...

I take back road from 45 to Canandaigua using... off my mind... some roads from chili restaurant or the intersection where ford dealership is, going south bypass victor to Boughton Hill rd, through RT 444 to 2nd right and go all the way south to RT 5/20.

Don't speak too early about Victor cant stop you.... A town in NJ where GW bridge is. they started to ban any cars that drive through town to get to GW, bypass traffic back up on expressway. they had issued a lot of tickets to these who ignored the ban... Now I guess Victor heard your comment and might do the same thing what that town did...

[BR&P]

Ken, I *think* the thing about the town prohibiting through traffic was applicable to TOWN streets. Since Rt 96 is a state highway, I'm guessing they would not be able to do something similar here.

[D Alex]

Well, a 2-way bypass from 251 to Brace road would be a big help in the afternoon, and a small help in the morning for my commute. It's the afternoon and mostly eastbound (south??) that needs the bypass, so making it 1-way the opposite direction will negate about 85% of the reason why Victor needs it.

[BR&P]

Alex, the concept of one-way eastbound on the LV ROW, and 1-way westbound on the existing Rt 96 road, would aid traffic flow in both directions. Without digging out the val maps, I believe the ROW is 100 feet wide west of School St and east of Maple so 2 highway lanes and a railroad track should be possible. But again, the need for the railroad is minimal at present and likely zero in the future so how would the expense of relocating the track be justified? Get your photos while you can!

[lvrr325]

County bought the line for the purpose of maintaining the rail. as long as there's a customer it should do that.